INDIANAPOLIS – The Great Midwest Athletic Conference is pleased to announce the hiring of Gene Steratore as its Supervisor of Football Officials. The 35-year veteran of officiating will oversee the selection and assignment of officials for all football contests hosted by Great Midwest member institutions. The move comes after the retirement of Craig Griffith, who held the role previously.
The veteran official has also served in the same role for the Mountain East Conference (MEC) and the Presidents Athletic Conference (PAC) for a combined 23 years. His officials in both leagues have continuously been selected for post-season assignments.
“I am extremely excited to and grateful for the opportunity to be selected to supervise the officials for G-MAC football,” said Steratore. “I have been involved in assigning, training, and overseeing officiating for the Tri State Football Association for over 35 years and have been the Supervisor of Officials for the past 15 years. Adding such a well-respected Conference to our Association is an amazing opportunity for our staff. I am looking forward to working with all the members of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference.”
Steratore, a Western Pennsylvania native, got his start officiating football and basketball at the local high school level before making a jump to the college and professional ranks. Steratore spent 33 years officiating football at various levels including 15 years as an official for the National Football League (NFL). His time in the NFL saw him selected to officiate in 14 total playoff games including two conference championships as well as being chosen as the alternate referee for Super Bowl XLIV and as the referee in Super Bowl LII. Steratore also spent 35 years officiating basketball with 23 of those years at the college level across ten NCAA Division I conferences.
“The Great Midwest is excited to partner with Gene and the Tri State Football Association and appreciative of his willingness to assume the responsibility for our football officiating program,” said Great Midwest Commissioner Tom Daeger. “Gene has proven to be an excellent Supervisor in addition to his strong reputation in officiating. His strong leadership of his officials' program will allow us to continue to build on the excellence established by Craig Griffith and the work he did as our first Supervisor. We are indebted to Craig for his passion and dedication to our football members. I look forward to Gene assuming control of the program and look forward to his development of football officiating in the Great Midwest.”
In 2018, Steratore retired from officiating and joined CBS Sports as an Officiating Analyst where he spends much of his time today.
A graduate of Kent State University, Steratore is also the father of three children: Natalie, Gene, and Andrew.